Black nationalism in America
THE AMERICAN HERITAGE SERIES The American Heritage Series
UNDER THE GENERAL EDITORSHIP OF Leonard W. Levy and Alfred F. Young Black nationalism in America
Edited by
JOHN H. BRACEY, JR. Northern Illinois University
AUGUST MEIER Kent State University
ELLIOTT RUDWICK Kent State University
THE BOBBS-MERRILL COMPANY, INC. Indianapolis and New York 1970 BY THE BOBBS-MERRILL COMPANY, INC. Printed in the United States of America Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 79-99161. First Printing To three Black Queens Helen, my mother Connie, my sister Jessica, my wife J.H.B.
To Harold and Esther Wilson A.M.
For Jo Ann Bogle and Patrick W. Riddleberger E.R.
Foreword
The fact that the phrase "the past illuminates the present" is abused should not prevent us from using it where it deserves to be used. Few, we believe, will turn away from this pioneering study of black nationalism without a deepened understanding of the movements that seemingly have burst upon the battle-scarred American racial scene since the mid-1960s. This is the first collection of documents devoted exclusively to black nationalism, and the introduction is one of the few essays that attempt to lay out a pattern for black nationalism over the sweep of American history. The editors, two of them historians, one a sociologist, have illuminated their subject in at least three ways. First, they have documented the persistence of black nationalism in American life. Simply put, the ideas that inform the current slogans of "Black Power" and "Black is Beautiful" have a long lineage. Doubtless it will amaze many to learn that in 1787 free Negroes named their separate church, the African Methodist Episcopal Church; and that in 1885 Francis J. Grimke advocated black teachers in black schools; and in 1898 Bishop Henry M. Turner preached "God is Black." Second, the editors have defined the varieties of black nationalism which range, as they see it, from racial solidarity, cultural nationalism and religious nationalism, through economic nationalism (bourgeois and socialist) and political nationalism (both reform and revolutionary), to territorial separatism and Pan-Africanism . By illustrating each type of nationalism in successive phases called "Origins," "Maturation,"
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"Flowering," and "Eclipse," they lay a basis for seeing both the parallels and unique features of the current "Revival ." Third, they have chosen selections not only from the few well-known nationalists-Marcus Garvey, Malcolm X, Eldridge Cleaver-but they have illustrated the subtle nationalist strain that twines through such central figures as Frederick Douglass, Booker T. Washington, and W. E. B. Du Bois . At the same time they have ferreted out the forgotten manifestos, speeches, leaf- lets, and letters that express nationalism at such root sources as Afro-American newspapers, Negro businessmen's leagues, and colored peoples' conventions. It should not be surprising that the editors disagree in inter- preting the history they document. They bring to their task diverse experiences as scholars and diverse points of view as participants in contemporary movements. It may establish a healthy precedent among collaborators, however, that they have set down their disagreement in the introduction. August Meier and Elliott Rudwick, on the one hand-and John Bracey, on the other-disagree as to how to conceptualize the status of the black man in America, whether the emphasis belongs on the essential continuity or on the ebb and flow of black nationalism, and on how varied nationalisms relate to social class . Their book is thus an invitation to thought; its spirit manifests neither spe- cial pleading nor condemnation . And for this reason it is an outstanding demonstration of the contribution skillful scholars with a rich command of the sources can make toward clarifying present-day alternatives . This book is one of a series created to provide the essential primary sources of the American experience, especially of Amer- ican thought. The series, when completed, will constitute a documentary library of American history, filling a need long felt among scholars, students, libraries, and general readers for authoritative collections of original materials. Some volumes will illuminate the thought of significant individuals, such as James Madison or Louis Brandeis ; some will deal with move- ments, such as the Antifederalists or the Populists; others will be organized around special themes, such as Puritan political
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thought, or American Catholic thought on social questions. Many volumes will take up the large number of subjects tradi- tionally studied in American history for which surprisingly there are no documentary anthologies; others will pioneer in introducing new subjects of increasing importance to scholars and to the contemporary world. The series aspires to maintain the high standards demanded of contemporary editing, provid- ing authentic texts, intelligently and unobtrusively edited. It will also have the distinction of presenting pieces of substantial length which give the full character and flavor of the original . The series will be the most comprehensive and- authoritative of its kind. Alfred F. Young Leonard W. Levy